The use of shipping containers has allowed the trans-shipment of large amounts of cargo from one seaport to another seaport. For example, large cargo ships are able to carry several dozen, or hundreds, and in some cases well over a thousand cargo containers, which are typically secured onto their decks or stored in their holds, from one port in one part of the world to a destination port on the other side of the globe. This shipping method has allowed cargo to be transported in a manner that would not be economically feasible or practicable by other conventional shipping methods, e.g., by air, rail or road.
When the cargo ship reaches its destination seaport, it is typically necessary to unload the cargo containers, whether they be loaded or empty, into holding areas because immediately placing the cargo containers onto the trailers/chassis of trucks (i.e., tractors) is a very time consuming and labor intensive process. Additionally, a great number of trailers/chassis must also be stored at the seaport to eventually be matched up with the great number of cargo containers. Because keeping dozens or hundreds of drivers and their tractors and/or trailers/chassis waiting in the confined space of a seaport loading dock is wasteful and impractical, many of the cargo containers have to be stored for a period of several days to several months until they can be matched up with an available driver and a tractor trailer/chassis. Thus, a typical busy seaport may have hundreds, and quite probably thousands, of cargo containers stacked in holding areas waiting for tractors and/or trailers/chassis to be brought into place wherein a crane (or other suitable device) can lift the cargo container and place it onto the trailer/chassis, whereupon the cargo container is secured to the trailer/chassis.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide a new and improved cargo container system that overcomes at least one of the aforementioned problems.